


The Golden Captain

by pikfic



Category: Pikmin (Video Game)
Genre: aka the au where olimar gets left behind instead and subsequently turns evil, mostly angst, non chronological chapters, the golden captain au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:42:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27629030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pikfic/pseuds/pikfic
Summary: Louie was the one who was left behind to survive for so long, alone, and Louie was the one that possessed- or was possessed by- a terrifying power, that of a supervillain. But what if it wasn't Louie who was left behind? What if it was Captain Olimar instead? And what if, what if, rather than a dweevil of titanic proportion, he stumbled across a certain golden, shapeshifting entity with a power over the elements at its disposal?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AU time, AU time! This time, it's what if Olimar got left behind instead? I believe I've already posted the first of these fics in my larger collection of pikmin fics, but since it's the start of this au, I'm just gonna post it here, too.

Olimar gazed up at the darkening sky, blinking in disbelief. Had they- had they really left without him? Had Louie really taken the ship, gone back to Hocotate without-...?

He had just told Louie to get the ship ready. To prepare for liftoff. While he had gone to say goodbye to the pikmin. Make sure they were all safely in their onions, for one last trip into the sky accompanied by the two Hocotatians.

And now-

Now the ship was gone? Had Louie really left without him?

Olimar stood in the landing site, staring up at the sky in disbelief, uncomprehending, unable to grasp that Louie- that the ship- that his safety, his escape, his way home- was gone. Blasted off into space without him, going back to Hocotate without him-

Leaving him here, stranded. Stranded again. Stranded _again_? Unbelievable. Incomprehensible. Stranded again, without a ship. Impossible, inconceivable. Stranded again.

And then something painful twisted in Olimar’s chest as the realization sank in, and his eyes slowly widened. He was stranded again, without a ship. Even the _Dolphin_ , at her worst, had made it off the planet into a low orbit, safe from the night. But now he hadn’t a ship to take him home, nor even one to take shelter in. And dusk was quickly coming to a close, the dark settling on the forest.

Tearing his gaze from the purpling sky and appearing stars, Olimar frantically glanced around. The onions were already folding up their legs, flying upwards to safety. For a moment, Olimar just watched with panicked breaths before his brain kicked into gear. He was stuck down here on the ground for the night, and he didn’t stand much of a chance alone. So he let out a sharp blast of his whistle, calling the red onion back to the ground, and from there, calling out twenty red pikmin. Then he dismissed the onion itself, letting it fly back upwards.

The pikmin all looked to him with worry in their eyes, panic just as much as his, at the encroaching dark. They were terrified; they knew what happened to those who stayed out past sunset.

“I’m sorry,” Olimar whispered to their scared gazes, “but I need your help again. I’m sorry.”

Sorry because he knew how dangerous this was, because he knew that some of them surely were going to die, because he knew he was about to sacrifice them so he could survive the night himself. “I’m sorry.”

Then one of the pikmin stepped forward, setting a hand on Olimar’s own gloved hand, looking towards the disappearing onions, then back at its leader. And something in the back of that little red pikmin’s head clicked, something made sense. The leader’s own onion was gone, missing, vanished. The leader was alone, defenseless in the night.

The leader was the best thing that had ever come to the pikmin. And, as it turned to look at its nineteen fellow pikmin, it knew, they would all willingly die to keep the leader alive. They would all willingly sacrifice themselves so that the leader could keep their entire race alive.

And besides. While it knew they certainly might die, it trusted the leader immensely, and having seen the leader work before, it had no doubt that if anyone could survive the night- and help them survive the night, too- it was leader.

Olimar didn’t know what went through the pikmin’s head. All he knew was that when it looked back at him, all fear was gone, all worry vanished. And something in the pikmin’s eyes told him it would follow him, fearlessly, into the dark, because it trusted him to keep them alive.

Olimar’s own gaze hardened. “Right, then,” he muttered, “if we’re going to make it tonight, we’ve got to get to work. We need to find somewhere defensible.”

The pikmin didn’t know what those words meant, but it understood the sudden shift in tone, and it nodded in agreement to the new determination.

And so Olimar whistled his little band of twenty, and set off at a brisk jog, hurrying from the beasts that were quickly approaching the now-abandoned landing site.

  


✿✿✿

  


By morning, Olimar was exhausted, and down to eight pikmin remaining. He had found a sort of overhanging dirt wall with a natural curve that sort of bottlenecked the entry, limiting how many creatures could get in at once- meaning less to defend at once. And thankfully, the creatures around seemed to have become wary of him and his pikmin in months since, and not nearly so many as he had expected came to fight.

That said, there were still plenty of hungry beasts about, and the night was spent in battle, with only twenty minute snatches of sleep in between. Plenty of pikmin had been lost, too; his forces more than halved.

But they had survived. They had made it through the night. And as Olimar wearily trekked back to the landing site, the survivor in him couldn’t help but smile. He had made it through the night.

Of course, this came at a price, and moreso than the pikmin lost. On reaching the landing site, the exhausted captain simply collapsed in the center, passed out into a deep, much needed sleep. He was safe here, guarded by the three onions, but now he spent daylight hours in rest, precious time needed for preparing for the next upcoming night.

Luckily, he was awoken some five hours later. Less luckily, it was to a fiercely growling stomach. He had no food, it was all aboard the ship now well on its way to Hocotate. And even provided he could get a bulborb or something and manage to cook it over a fire to the point that it was safe to eat but still actually edible (a challenge for him, his culinary expertise extended only so far as instant space noodles and PikPik carrot smoothies), he still faced the challenge of actually eating it. Sure, he had seen Louie eating outside the ship plenty of times- take a breath, pull of your helmet, take a bite, put your helmet back on- but that didn’t mean _he_ had ever done it.

As Olimar brooded on these troubles, he failed to notice the pikmin walking up to him until it was almost on top of him, dumping the red pellet into his lap. Olimar blinked, looking at the large disc, then looking up at the pikmin. “...What…?”

The pikmin squeaked and gestured to Olimar.

“...For me? For food?” Olimar asked, thoughtfully.

The pikmin made the same gesture.

“Well-... thank you,” he replied with a small, confused smile. This was, he supposed, food, after all. Crystallized nectar, was what it was, and Louie had prepared it… _somehow_. Cooked it? Over a fire, hopefully, as Olimar didn’t currently have much of another method available. He’d have to do his best.

Fifteen minutes later found Olimar just a bit dizzy from oxygen, but with a stomach full of charred-but-edible red pellet. And with food in his belly, Olimar felt considerably better, and maybe even just a little optimistic. Sure things were hard, but he was still alive, and this time, his life support was fully functional, so he didn’t have a thirty day time limit. And he had food, and he had the pikmin. He could do this, he could survive until Louie came back for him.

“Okay,” he breathed to the nearby pikmin, standing up. “Half the day’s already gone, but that doesn’t mean we’re completely out of time. We might be able to get started on building a gate or a wall or something for protection.”

With that, he gathered his pikmin to his side, and set off to find some branches they could carry back to make a wall.

  


✿✿✿

  


A month later found Olimar as strong as ever, surviving well, _flourishing_ , even. The landing site had been turned into a veritable fortress, with tall, strong walls of wood, and a big fire pit in the middle to keep the dark at bay. Olimar still had some trouble sleeping, but that was less due now to fighting and more to just listening to the howls of the creatures outside his encampment. And in time, even that become normal, and he was able to rest.

He hadn’t gotten much better at cooking, but that was okay. He had enough to survive.

He had begun to make tools, too. Sticks and stones, and repurposing what he could of the treasures he scavenged to make his base ever more defended. The door was now a pikmin-powered portcullis, and he had fashioned a couple spring loaded catapults out of some twisted bits of metal he had found. He carried a metal knife at his belt, and kept a coil of rope draped over his shoulder like a sash. The back corner of the landing site was occupied by the hut they had built for him to take shelter in bad weather.

It was extraordinary, Olimar thought, what one could accomplish with the help of the pikmin.

Today, Olimar was setting off on an expedition that could last many days. He had seen on a previous adventure, a flash of gold at the top of a humongous structure, and was going to investigate. They could always use more resources, and whatever that was, it had to be something rather large to catch the light like that.

Not to mention that Olimar couldn’t help but hope it was the glint of the sun off the hull of a spaceship, and he could maybe finally make it out of here.

So he set off, pikmin trailing behind, for the towering Formidable Oak.

  


✿✿✿

  


Louie had a bad feeling. A _very_ bad feeling.

He hadn’t wanted to come back here. Sure, his conscience had been screaming at him the whole time as he made excuses, _you have to go back, you left Olimar there!_ But he wasn’t exactly one to go on heroic adventures, even if it was to right one of his own moronic mistakes, abandoning one of the few people who cared about him.

But here he was, back in this abominable planet, following glumly behind the president. He had made another huge mistake- this time mentioning that there was still more treasure in the planet to the president- and now he _was_ here again, hunting treasure again.

Not that they were finding much. The president claimed to have seen something shining out here on top of this tower, but so far it was proving to be abandoned.

Not unlike that mysterious fortress that seemed to have appeared around the landing site while Louie was gone. He had hoped, at first, that Olimar had made camp there and survived, but as the days went on and Olimar failed to show up, Louie had just become more nervous.

There was something wrong with the pikmin, too. They seemed scared, on edge around the abandoned base. And even moreso inside this giant, hollow tree.

The president didn’t seem to take note of their nervousness, not Louie’s nor the pikmin’s. He insisted there was a treasure of great value here, and that they press on. Louie followed, even though every instinct was screaming at him to _run away._

Eventually, they came to the top of the tree stump, but still there was no treasure. As they walked out onto the large, flat surface, though, Louie saw something else. Nearly in the middle of the platform, there was what appeared to be a bed of greenery. And lying on top of it was-

For nearly the first time in his life, Louie raised his voice beyond a monotone mumble, just about screaming the captain’s name as he charged forward. 

He came to an abrupt halt, though, as Olimar rose. “L-Louie-?” Something was wrong, something about Olimar’s voice, something about the way he stood, something about his eyes, all so wrong. “Louie- you came back-...”

Louie nodded mutely, but he stumbled back a step as Olimar took one forward. Olimar was crying, and this was wrong, so, so wrong!

The ground began to bubble and seethe behind Olimar, and some- some _thing_ , glimmering and golden and liquid, began to rise up behind him.

“Louie- you came back.” And Olimar was still crying, crying thick, golden tears that sluggishly rolled down his face, seeping from golden eyes without irises or pupils. 

Shaking, ears pinned back, and eyes wide, Louie stumbled back another step, the president and pikmin behind him doing the same, all terrified.

“...You really came-...”

The creature loomed, enormous, behind Olimar, the sun framed perfectly in the gaping hole in its torso, like a giant, malevolent, burning eye, staring down at the pikmin and Louie, and most of all, at Olimar. 

“I’m- sorry, Louie-... You really shouldn’t have-“ Olimar’s voice cracked, his face twisting into agony as he raised an arm, the monster behind mirroring his movement. “-Shouldn’t- have- come- back.”


	2. Golden Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Olimar is not sad

Olimar felt… warm. Comfortable. Something in the back of his head told him that he shouldn’t have felt such, not after having worn his suit for over two weeks straight, not after having nothing to eat for several days now, not after having hardly moved since arriving here, but nonetheless, he felt comfortable, and, similarly, felt no reason why he should move. So no, he wasn’t going to move, not now, not from this bed of gold.

He felt safe, here, too. Nothing would harm him. Nothing could harm him. The golden creature that had taken him in would see to it that he was safe. It had a fearsome power, a terrifying strength Olimar had seen firsthand, and he knew that, if he called, it would protect him.

He was safe here. He was comfortable. So he saw no reason to leave. He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay here. Safe and comfortable.

How long he stayed there, he wasn’t sure, but it wasn’t as if it mattered. He could lie there forever, cradled in the Plasm Wraith’s grip. It wanted him to stay with it, and he wanted to stay there, too. He could think of no reason to leave.

In time, however, there was still a reason to stir. The sound of voices, familiar voices, calling out to him, and…

 _Stars_ , was that…?

He tried to choke out the young Hocotatian’s name, but he could feel the thick, golden ooze catching in his throat, coating his mouth, making his words a wheeze. “ _L-ou-ie-?_ ” A step forward, a single step with a leg weakened with disuse but strengthened by the same thick, golden blood. And another step forward, a little more smoothly as he learned to move with the strange, unfamiliar pulse in his chest.

And then a shudder, a realization, as fear ripped through his heart. The peace was broken, his contentment slipping away. The Plasm Wraith was agitated, unnerved by these newcomers, and so long as it was uncomfortable, so too was Olimar. And it was all Olimar wanted, all he needed, that quiet comfort, unmoving peace, resting on a golden bed, nothing more he asked.

But so long as his caretaker was upset, he couldn’t have that, _wouldn’t_ have that, not until-

Olimar hesitated, one of his stiff legs nearly giving out beneath him. His face contorted as he realized what had to be done, what he had to do that he might once again be at peace, and a thick, golden tear slid from his eye and rolled down his face. 

_Oh, Louie, you shouldn’t have come. You shouldn’t have come back._

This time, as Olimar took a step forward, Louie and his entourage all took a step back, and Olimar could feel the ground writhe behind him, feel his protector rising obehund him. And he was well aware of the fierce power sliding through his heart, forcing its way through his veins, pulsing in his fingertips, trailing down his face.

_I’m sorry, Louie. But you shouldn’t have come back._

Louie turned to run, but with a twitch of his fingers, Olimar signaled to the Wraith, and it responded, fire erupting from the ground. Another gesture and a crystalline mass slammed into the ground, crushing a number of Louie’s following.

Louie seemed to get the idea, now, and, eyes just as tearful as Olimar’s, he turned to fight.

It wasn’t much of a fight, though. Olimar knew how Louie operated, and knew how to combat his every move with a simple gesture to guide the golden beast’s attacks. In a matter of time, Louie’s forces were destroyed, and then so was Louie himself.

Looking at the blood spread across the ground, Olimar knew he should feel something else. Something bad, he knew, as he sank back to the ground. Something sad, as the golden streaks down his face faded away.

But all he felt, looking at his young coworker’s body, was a returning sense of peace and calm and utter content, once again lying on a bed of gold.


	3. Riches Spent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Golden Captain is recovered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As this au is supposed to be Olimar left behind rather than Louie in Pikmin 2, I was asked over on my tumblr if there was a good/"canon" counterpart ending, where Olimar is rescued by Louie.

Louie stumbled backwards a step, ears pinned back in fear. He could practically feel the terror of the pikmin behind him in their unnatural silence. He didn’t blame them. The thing in front of him _was_ terrifying.

Massive and golden and asymmetrical, the thing stood just behind Captain Olimar, the hole in its head framing the sun just right to look like a malevolent, burning eye, leering down at them.

Then Louie’s gaze flicked back to Olimar, who managed to stumble another step forward, golden tears running from golden eyes as he choked out unintelligible, anguished words.

“O-Olimar?” Louie attempted, shifting back another step. 

A sort of broken noise that almost sounded like Louie’s name escaped the captain’s mouth, and he lifted a hand, almost as if reaching out to Louie. Louie just stepped back once more.

“He- He’s already gone!” The president’s voice beside Louie was the same horrified murmur as when they had discovered the bill for those carrots Louie ate. “We need to go- we need to go _now_ \- before that happens to us!”

Louie, despite ordinarily being sorely lacking in courage and loyalty, really didn’t want to leave. Olimar was one of the few people whom he had actually come to like, and Louie didn’t want to leave him. Not to mention the fact that Olimar had saved Louie on many occasions, and running would mean not returning the favor.

Louie didn’t agree with the president that Olimar was already gone- the look of anguish on the captain’s face despite the golden eyes, the thick tears dripping down his cheeks despite their unnatural tint more than told Louie that Olimar was still there- but he did agree that they needed to leave before that thing got them. They weren’t well enough equipped to deal with it. So they turned to run, and with each footfall, Louie muttered a promise, “I’m sorry, Captain. I’ll be back, I promise, with a plan to get you out of here.”

But it seemed Olimar- or the thing behind Olimar- had other ideas. They just made it to the tunnel leading back into the tree. The president had already made it through, when suddenly a geyser of fire exploded from the ground, cutting Louie off.

Louie turned back to Olimar and that thing, and as he did, Olimar made a slight gesture, and an enormous crystalline cube plunged out of nowhere, crushing at least five pikmin.

Louie bit his lip. So then, there was no way out. No way out but-...

He had to try. He had to save Olimar.

  


✿✿✿

  


Olimar could feel its power dwindling, feel its influence dwindling as thick chunks of it were pounded apart by the pikmin. He fought with all he could, guiding the Plasm Wraith to every tactic he could think of, but it wasn’t nearly enough. And as the Wraith lost strength, so too weakened its influence, and Olimar began to lose the will to fight.

And then- and then it was gone entirely. All the fear, all the stress, all the fight, slipping away as the golden creature dwindled. He felt it make one more attempt, one more try at swaying him to its side with the illusory promise of false peace, but it was too weak to hold on. And then it was gone, and he was aware, his mind finally clear, free of all the false emotion, he was free, free, and oh- oh _stars_ \- oh so _nauseous_. 

As the Plasm Wraith’s influence left, so did its strength, leaving Olimar weak and dizzy. He staggered a step to the side, struggling to keep balance as his vision began to spin. He stumbled, then began to tilt, then began to fall. Just in time, a pair of arms managed to awkwardly catch him before slowly lowering him to the ground. But even lying there, still, the whole of his frame surrendered to gravity, Olimar’s world still spun, and his chest tightened and his stomach lurched, and suddenly, he was coughing and choking up a thick, heavy liquid, no longer gold but a dull bronze, lacking the Wraith’s presence.

A small part of Olimar that was aware of what was going on was relieved to be rid of the stuff. A smaller, even more aware part of him began to panic, as he was still wearing his suit, and as the bile kept coming, running from his mouth and nose, it began to pool in the bowl of his helmet

Thankfully, someone else seemed to realize this, too, as Olimar heard a distant shout, _he’s going to choke, he’s going to_ choke!

And then he was being lifted upright, the Wraith’s blood draining from his helmet… and farther into his suit.

Not that he could really muster up the energy to care. His body gave one final spasm, and he fell limp in Louie’s grip, exhausted, but finally breathing, breathing again, even if it was more like wheezing.

From very far away, Olimar heard Louie say something about the ship, but it was too late; Olimar was already slipping farther and farther away…

  


✿✿✿

  


Olimar came to some time later, sitting in the ship’s cargo bay, back against the wall, as Louie was pulling off his helmet. His body ached, he felt like he had dried mud caked all across his chest, and he had an awful taste in his mouth, but all of that was forgotten as soon as he groaned and shifted and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Louie, who, in turn, sagged visibly with relief.

“Captain?” Louie began, hands falling to Olimar’s shoulders.

“...Mh?” Olimar grunted back, blinking against the headache that was quickly developing behind his eyes.

“Are- are you okay?”

Olimar just offered a mute nod, before starting a question. “What-“

That was as far as he got, though, before the memories came pouring back.

“Oh- oh. I-...”

Louie made a dismissive noise. “That… thing had you. You weren’t… _you_.”

“No, no, I was-“ Olimar reached up to rub the back of his neck. “I-... the Wraith could-... influence me, yes. It- it made me feel… scared, and angry. But I was still-...” He looked down. “I still… knew what I was doing. I chose to do it.” At Olimar’s words, Louie blinked, then frowned, then looked away, and Olimar’s heart sank. “I’m- I know it won’t cut it, but I’m sorry.”

After a long, long moment, Louie looked back to Olimar. He was still frowning, but he didn’t look mad. “...Yeah. That was a pretty big screw up. But we’re friends, so... I guess it’s okay. And besides-...” Now Louie looked away, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “I… was the one who left you behind. So, I uh… guess I kinda deserved that, and it... evens out or something like that.”

Olimar blinked, then offered a small, weak smile. “Either way, thanks for saving me.”

Louie gestured a little. “You’ve saved me more than enough. Least I could do was return the favor.”

Olimar could only smile, tears- real, normal tears- pooling in the corners of his eyes. And for a moment, they just sat there.

Then Louie pushed himself up, offering Olimar a hand. “...Anyway. You probably wanna get yourself cleaned up. Get out of your suit, change your clothes and all that.”

Olimar just nodded and accepted Louie’s hand, relying on the younger Hocotatian’s support to rise to his feet. “...Really, Louie. I mean it. Thanks.”

Louie just grunted. “Don’t mention it, Captain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all I've got for this au at the moment! There's a bit more non-fic content for it over on my tumblr account of the same username, though, as well as an open inbox for fic prompts, if you'd like to suggest more of this au!


End file.
